Once Upon a Hundredfold
by dimme
Summary: He'd almost lost her, in more ways than one. She lost too much, and doesn't know how get it back. Now Darien's out for blood, but Serena still remains oblivious to the darker side of the man she loves. How will this love survive?
1. 101

**Warning: **Rated "M" for a reason. Chapter contains language.

**A/N: **After you read this story, tell me whether you'd prefer me to continue working more on this one, or _Return in Kind_. They are both currently about the same length (although not in chapters). I initially had this one written with Chapter 1 and 2 as a single, long chapter, but decided it would work better as two different chapters.

* * *

**Once Upon a Hundredfold**

Chapter 1

* * *

She couldn't even scream anymore. Her throat felt raw and hoarse. She tried to lift a hand to her neck but discovered that her body refused to move.

Curiously, she felt no pain. She could've sworn that a moment ago her body felt positively on fire, but now she felt nothing. No pain, no agony, just a soft sense of lethargy and sluggishness in her limbs. She tried to take a deep breath and felt liquid fire pooling in her stomach. She would've screamed if she could.

_Okay, easier not to breathe. __It's__ okay, I should be fine…_

She felt a dull sense of throbbing in her gut and shoulder and panicked for a moment. _My baby! I hope the baby is okay… __Alone...__So alone.__ Where is he? Why isn't he here?_

She remembered angry words and shouting, and her own sense of bewilderment and confusion. But it was easier to not think of such things. It was much easier to follow the beckoning darkness, and the comfort it advertised.

Distantly she heard a feminine voice, calling out and shouting. She couldn't understand or quite decipher the words correctly, but the voice sounded distinctly familiar. She felt cool and soothing hands touch her face and neck. She tried desperately to open her eyes and see who it was but she was just so tired

_Time to sleep.__ I wonder what time it is… Goodnight my baby. I'll see you in the morning… Goodnight…_

* * *

Darien seethed beneath his helmet. He raced down the freeway at a breakneck speed on his motorcycle and simply lost any police cars that tried to chase him down. 

He couldn't even think in his fury. His mind seemed to be a red haze of anger and excruciating pain. All he could see was Serena's beautiful face. Her lying, cunning face.

He saw her face and its beautiful blue eyes, so seemingly honest and pure, tell him that she loved him. Saw her face as they made love and climaxed together. Saw her face in pictures which showed her and his enemy in bed together.

Conniving little bitch.

Even now he saw her face in anger, in confusion, in shock as he told her that he knew everything. The previous exhilaration and excitement on her facing melted off and his heart just ached remembering that face. How _dare _she deny it? How _dare _she claim innocence when he had evidence in his hands?

God, he was such a fool. Like a stupid boy mooning after his first love he had believed her, trusted her. He should've known better.

His gut twisted in agony and pain. When one of their secret facilities had been infiltrated and attacked by Diamond's men, Darien had wondered how he might've learned of its location.

Now he knew.

He'd left behind a clearly furious and shocked Serena. But he had to leave, least he wrap his hands around her slender and beautiful throat. As much as he hated her at the moment, he just couldn't bring himself to hurt her. And he hated himself for it, for his weakness.

He'd been driving for almost an hour now, and his speedometer was nearing 180. Traffic was slow and near empty at this time, so it wasn't as dangerous, but his gas tank was nearing empty.

His blazing anger and fury had finally begun to fade away, leaving in its place an icy cold stillness. He could've killed and slaughtered a dozen men at that time and not even blink an eye. He seriously considered it, to just storm into Diamond's main facility and kill as many men that would dare to face him, until he could face Diamond and watch the life slide out of his eyes. But Darien wanted something worse. No, Diamond and that whore Serena would suffer. Diamond would die an excruciating painful death at his hands, but Serena would suffer for the rest of her life. It would be the price to pay for betraying him to such extent. For fooling him, for lying to him, for making him fall in love with her.

Even now his chest felt like it would explode. He would've gladly put the world at her feet, would've died for her… Just as he thought she would for him. He'd loved nothing as much as he had loved Serena, but she took his love and used it for her own twisted ways.

His heart was frozen in his chest, just as it had been before he met Serena. Serena with her heart melting smile and beautiful eyes.

Maybe he deserved it; for being such a **fucking** stupid bastard. He'd sworn to never trust a woman again, to never fall in love, and against his better judgment, he'd gone against his own words. And look where it got him.

Darien took the next exit and looked for a gas station to fill up his tank. He would go home, and if that bitch still dared to be there, he would make sure that she left and never came back.

He paid the man in the store, the cashier clearly wary of Darien's killer and dark mood. As he waited for the tank to fill, he took out the manila envelope he had stuffed into his inside jacket pocket and took out its contents. He wanted to see them again. He wanted to punish and torture himself with the image of Serena's beautiful writhing body, punish himself for being such a stupid fool.

With cold eyes he examined the pictures once more dispassionately, under the gas station's bright lights. The pictures were of perfectly clear and crisp quality, not grimy or blurry at all. There were five pictures in all, all of which contained images of Serena and Diamond fucking each other. He flipped through them again, seeing that bastard Diamond holding Serena just as Darien used to hold her.

Her body was slim and alluring, her skin perfectly smooth and pale. Her waterfall of silver-blond hair tumbled down her back all the way to her hips where a small trio of moles adorned her back.

He ignored the ache that began to build in his chest and viciously stamped it down.

Wait. Moles?

From what he knew, Serena's body was pure alabaster perfection, not a single scar, mole, or birthmark adorning it. She'd often complained that she looked like a ghost, and wished she could tan properly. He moved to better light and brought the picture closer to his face. The picture was in perfect clarity, so it wasn't just a mere imperfection of the picture.

His heart pounding, he scratched at the picture, trying to remove the blemish.

It stayed. He looked the all the pictures, and in most of them, the same small trio of moles were on her back in the exact same spot on her back. He looked at Serena's face more closely and saw that her nose also looked larger and her lips looked thinner than they actually were. Her eyes were a stunning shade of blue... but dark. Too dark. Serena's eyes were a pale sky blue that sparkled like ice. And her ears. Her ears were pierced. Serena had never gotten her ears pierced before.

He couldn't breathe, couldn't think. He flipped through the pictures once more, examining each one carefully and thoroughly. With each minute that passed, that ache in his heart faded, and the muscles in his stomach began to loosen.

_It wasn't her. Oh god, it wasn't her. It wasn't her. It wasn't Seren__a. Serena had never betrayed me. She had been telling me__ the truth all along. It wasn't her.__ She loves me._

"Thank you god." The words slipped through his lips in the barest of whispers. His mind was a whirlwind of relief and confusion and guilt. Oh god, the words he had said to her, the things he had accused her of. How would she ever forgive him?

He got back on his bike, prepared to race back home and grovel at her feet. She wouldn't make this easy for him, he knew. He hadn't trusted her and she knew that now. He wondered how long it would take, or if he could, win back hers.

Darien wondered who the woman in the pictures was. She looked remarkably similar to Serena, with only the slightest differences marking her as a different woman. Then he wondered how Diamond knew about the location of his facility, if Serena hadn't been the one to tell him. He clearly wanted to throw Darien off with the pictures, and perhaps even make him do something that he'd regret (which he'd almost done).

He had tons of unanswered questions, all of which paled before the mother of all questions cramping his mind: would Serena forgive him?

The only hope that Darien had was his faith in Serena's love; love that he'd never again doubt. God, to think that he almost lost her, and all because of Diamond's sick trick… It made the ache in his chest return with a vengeance.

Oh, Diamond would pay dearly- more so than before. He wouldn't die anytime soon, oh no, but he'd suffer until he wished he would. He had underestimated the extent of Darien's power and force; and he'd regret it for the rest of his life.

He felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, and pressed a button which connected his cell phone to the wireless headset wired into his helmet.

"Shields," he snapped into the phone. He was impatient to get home, impatient to find Serena.

"Darien? It's Mina. Oh god, something terrible has happened!"

He instantly thought of Kunzite, one of his most trusted men and Mina's husband.

"What is it? What happened?"

"It's Serena."

His body stiffened, and grew cold. The heat of his rage was replaced with numbness, and his heart began to thump in pounding fear. He couldn't even speak, breathe.

"She was attacked in your guys' bedroom. I'm on the way to the hospital with her right now. I called Kunzite and he's on his way," she sobbed, and her voice cracked. "Oh god, Darien. It's really bad. The paramedics don't know if she…" Mina broke, and began to cry harder.

"I-i-is she still alive?" for the first time in his entire life, Darien's voice wavered. He felt the waves of panic clogging his throat, cutting off his air.

"Yes, but barely. The paramedics don't know she'll live for much longer. Serena… God, Serena."

Darien clenched his eyes shut for a moment and took a deep breath. Terror was a new emotion for him, and he was beginning to learn just how crippling it was. "Just… Just stay with her Mina. I'll be at the hospital soon. St. Mark's?"

"Yes. But please Darien, hurry. If something should go wrong…"

"No, she'll be fine. She has to be. She will be."

* * *

**Reminder:** Please keep reading it! I initially wrote it as one long chapter, but decided to break it up. So keep reading :) . 


	2. 102

**Warning: **Rated "M" for a reason. Chapter contains language and violence.

* * *

**Once Upon a Hundredfold**

Chapter 2

* * *

Serena was floating. It was like that time she and Darien went vacationing in Fiji and they had floated on the crystal blue waters together.

She yawned- or at least, she thought she did. She really couldn't feel anything but fatigue. She wanted to just go back to sleep, but someone kept poking her body. All over. It was really starting to get annoying. She and her baby needed their rest!

She felt something burning behind her eyelids, as if someone was flashing a light directly at her. She tried to tell whoever was poking her to turn off the lights, but she was just so tired. Why was she so sleepy?

Oh well, she'd just go back to sleep and figure things out in the morning.

* * *

Hours passed. No news. Darien, Mina, and Kunzite all sat in the waiting room, as well as Darien's other trusted men, Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite. 

Mina sat in the corner on Kunzite's lap, her tears dried on her face, the occasional hiccup escaping from her chapped lips. Kunzite held her tightly, hugging her to him and whispering soft words of encouragement and love into her ears. It had been a horrible shock for Mina to find her best friend's body lying in the middle of the room, bleeding to death.

Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite all stood at various points of the room near the exits and entrances, their bodies stiff and eyes watchful. None of Darien's other men were permitted into the room, none were allowed to protect their leader, for Darien only wanted his most trusted in the room.

Darien sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair, his body slumped and his face buried in his hands. He couldn't believe what was happening. So many things had happened at once that he didn't even know where to begin.

He'd gotten the pictures that night at work in an unmarked envelope. When he'd seen them, finally absorbed what his eyes were looking at, he couldn't even remember what he was thinking at the time. There'd been nothing in his mind but a pure killing rage. He couldn't see anything but "Serena" wrapped around Diamond's body, and hear the lies that she'd told. He couldn't think about anything but the near disaster they'd almost faced when ambushed by Diamond's men, and how she must've supplied Diamond with information.

He had gone home, in silence, his eyes dead and flat. Serena had flown into his arms when he stepped into their room, a heart achingly beautiful vision in her white lingerie.

_"Darien! I have wonderful news! I just found out that we're going to-"_

_"Save it. I don't want to hear another word from you, bitch."_

Darien wanted to die. He saw the utter shock and anger on her face. Her exuberance that melted into hurt. He wondered, now, what her news was. God, he'd give anything just to hear her voice tell him her news. To just see her smile again the same way she always smiled at him.

"Gentlemen? And Mrs. Zephyr?" Darien looked up to see a doctor in fresh scrubs standing before them and stood up anxiously. His heart stopped. "I'm afraid-" _Ohgodohgodohgodohgod__ She was dead. He'd lost her. He loved her. She was gone forever. He'd killed her. It was __all his__ fault. _"-that I have some good news and bad news."

He felt as if though someone had punched him in the stomach. He exhaled a deep sigh of relief and collapsed back into his chair.

She wasn't dead. Good news.

"Does Ms. LeRoux have any family here? I saw that she had an engagement ring. Is her fiancée here?"

"I'm-" His voice was hoarse and raspy; he cleared his throat. "I'm Darien Shields. I'm her fiancée."

The doctor's eyes widened slightly upon hearing his name, but made no further indication that he recognized the name. "Then could I speak to you first?"

Stiffly, Darien stood up and walked woodenly to the doctor. They walked outside of the waiting room where no one but a few night-shift nurses wandered in the halls.

"Doctor, please tell me, is she going to be okay?" Darien asked anxiously. He had no power here. In here, in this hospital, he was not Darien Shields, one of the most powerful men in the world. No, he could only wait and hope.

"Yes, I'm happy to say that the surgery was a complete success and Ms. LeRoux is going to be alright. However-"

"What had happen to her?" Darien interrupted. "I didn't even hear what her injuries were. I didn't… I didn't even know what had happened."

"Ms. LeRoux suffered from severe stab wounds in her stomach, shoulder, and right arm. Fortunately, and miraculously, the knife wounds didn't sever any major arteries, and avoided her heart by the barest fraction of an inch. She also seems to have been sexually assaulted."

"She was… _raped?!_"

The doctor would've instinctively taken a step back for safety upon seeing the pure blazing hatred and fury blazing in his eyes, but (figuratively) held his balls and stood his ground.

"No. Upon further inspection, it seems that penetration did not occur, although we found severe bruising around her inner thighs, wrists, and neck which indicated that it was attempted. Ms. LeRoux's fingernails also held traces of skin, which we are assuming are from her attacker. We have taken samples of it and have already been sent to the police station for DNA identification. Her knuckles were also slightly raw- your fiancée gave quite a fight," he said ruefully.

"Oh god," Darien whispered. He clamped his eyes shut tight and pressed his fingers against them to ward off the stinging. "So she's okay? Can I see her?"

"You can see her soon. We just finished the operation, and she should be situated in her new room soon. However, I must ask, did you know that she was pregnant?" the doctor asked gently.

Darien froze. _"Did you know that she was pregnant?" _The question echoed in his head. "Pregnant? No, I-"

_"Darien! I have wonderful news! I just found out that we're going to-"_

"I think she was going to tell me today. She said that she had good news." For a moment, Darien felt thrilled and exhilaration for the first time in hours. _We're going to have a baby! _Then a horrible idea slid into his mind, and he felt sick. _There's bad news too…_ "Is the, the baby… okay?"

The doctor didn't look away from Darien's pain-filled eyes, although his look of sympathy didn't waver. "I'm sorry, but with the stab wounds as well as the rough assault, I'm afraid Ms. LeRoux miscarried even before she arrived at the hospital. There was nothing we could do. She was two months along. I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Shields."

Darien sharply turned away and took a few steps down the hall. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to _kill_.

His unborn child. His innocent, beautiful child was dead. Oh god. How was he going to tell Serena? He collapsed against the wall and slid down, his head and arms slumped between his knees. He took a few deep calming breaths and gathered what control he could. That infamous control that he was known for.

Moments later when he looked up again, the doctor didn't feel anything but pity. Not pity for Ms. LeRoux and her distraught fiancée, but for the son of a bitch that did this. It wasn't like he made a habit of feeling sorry for criminals, but from the look in Darien's eyes, his life was going to be absolute hell when Darien caught him. Not if, but when. Not many people didn't not know who Darien Shields was, and those who really knew about him, and his apparent… Darker dealings, knew that he was a man to be feared. A man who, if on his bad side, you should run like hell from. Not that you'd escape for long.

Darien stood up slowly, like a panther stretching his limbs just waiting to jump on its prey. "I'm going to also need a sample of that DNA, doctor. My men will be able to research it more quickly and thoroughly." His cold tone garnered no argument, and the doctor knew better than to try.

It was technically illegal, but the doctor liked his life. He had two kids, all grown now, and a wonderful wife waiting for him back home. He'd like to keep it that way. "Yes, of course Mr. Shields."

"May I see her now?"

"Yes, you should be able to. Let me go find out which room she is."

After the doctor left, Darien went back into the waiting room to tell his men and Mina, especially, the news. One pair of anxious eyes and four pairs of coolly waiting eyes met his as he stepped inside.

"What did the doctor say? Is Serena alright? What happened?" Mina cried.

"The doctor said she's going to be alright." He then went on to recount to them exactly what the doctor told him of Serena's injuries. When he told them of the attempted rape everyone in the room looked ready to kill. It was an insult to them that someone could attack their leader's woman so easily, and not even be caught.

"That fucking bastard. If only I had gotten there a little bit sooner… I would've fucking-"

"You would've probably been attacked as well. But you weren't. And for that, I am eternally grateful," Kunzite said, cutting off his wife's furious tirade.

"So she will be okay?" Nephrite finally spoke up.

"Yes, she should. However…" Darien finally told them the last horrible bit of news, about her miscarriage. It was difficult to say the words out loud, and every word that he bit out was drenched in cold fury.

Whoever did this to Serena would suffer. Darien would make sure of it personally.

Mina burst into tears again, and Kunzite gathered her closely within his arms. "Oh Serena… I can't believe… Oh, this is going to kill her…"

"I'm just glad that you found her when you did. If you hadn't arrived…" The very thought of it terrified him.

"Serena had called me. She said that she and you had gotten into a terrible fight. She didn't really understand why and was so hurt and confused that she just wanted company. She said that she'd..." Mina paused for a moment, wiping away the tears on her face with a ponderous look on her face. "She said that she'd leave the gates open for me, and disengage the locks so that I could come right up. Kunzite! I think-"

"I think we just found out how the attacker managed to get into the mansion without setting off any alarms," Zoicite said.

"Fuck. How many times did I always tell Serena to stop doing that? I told her it wasn't safe." But Serena was always so naïve, so innocent.

"Oh this is all my fault!" Mina wailed. "If I hadn't-"

"No. In no absolutely no way, shape, or form is this your fault. This is none of your faults'. It is entirely mine."

"But Darien! It's not! If-"

"It is. I was the one who wrongly accused Serena of something horrible. I was the one who left her behind, alone. I was the one who should've been there, should've protected her. I was the one who should've trusted her. Fuck it. _I _should be one lying on that fucking hospital bed right now." Darien said furiously. His control was on the brink, and he felt like he'd snap any moment.

He slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a noticeable dent. His harsh breaths ripped out of his mouth and his chest heaved in exertion.

Slowly, Jadeite approached Darien and put a gentle and calm hand on his shoulder. "Calm down Darien. Serena is okay now, and that's what counts the most. She needs you to be calm and here for her right now, so I suggest you go see her."

Right on time, the doctor stepped back into the room, his uneasiness palpable upon entering the tense room. "Er, Mr. Shields? I have the DNA sample, as well as Ms. LeRoux's room number. Would you like to see her? She is currently sleeping."

"Thank you doctor." Darien took the small envelope and tossed it over to Nephrite. "Get on top of this now. I want results within the next few hours. Thank you for everything Doctor Fitzpatrick. Your services will be dully noted."

"Yes of course. I-" _Am glad that you didn't kill me? Am really quite terrified out of my mind? _"am glad that I was of service to you."

Darien gave him a wordless nod and spun around and began walking towards the door. "Mina, you can come in after a bit and see her. But first, I'd like to be alone with her," he said tonelessly without turning around.

"Yes, of course Darien. I understand. Take your time."

* * *

The burning was gone now, and her eyes felt soothed under the cool dimness. She wasn't as tired anymore either, but her body seemed to ache everywhere. She thought she was in bed, but the scratchy material of the sheets and lumpy mattress felt unfamiliar, quite unlike the down feather bed and silk sheets she and Darien shared. 

_I'm so spoiled now, _Serena thought amusedly. _Since when have I gotten particular about which sheets I used? _She tried to move her hand and feel for Darien's warm body that should've been next to hers but didn't find anything. _So I'm not home… But I remember getting ready for bed. Darien came home… __And…__And…__ He was angry. _She remembered his horrible, hurtful words that had confused the hell out of her.

_"You bitch! How long were spreading your legs for him? __From the start?__ Did you enjoying knowing that you played me for a fucking fool all this time? God, what a whore you are. You disgust me."_

Tears came to her eyes. What had he been talking about? Just today she had found out that she was pregnant with Darien's child. She'd been so thrilled to tell him and news, and thought he would be too. But when Darien came home… She'd never seen that kind of look on his face. Pure, unadulterated hate and loathing.

Then he'd left, still furious and raging, slamming their bedroom door behind him. Tears of anger and confusion had been rolling down her face as she tried to make sense of what he was shouting and accusing her of. Her heart breaking and feeling lonely, she called her best friend Mina to come over to talk. Mina said that she'd be there soon, so Serena made sure to call Security and ask them to turn the alarms off and allow Mina in when she arrived. _Mina… Where was she? I don't remember seeing her… I only remember…_

A face in a black ski mask. His breath had been rancid and his body large and hulking. She remembered seeing him all of sudden in her room, coming towards her with a large, glinting knife in his hands. He had smiled at her, his yellow teeth crooked and disgusting. He'd been dressed entirely in black and came at her clumsily and stupidly, swinging his knife. But she wasn't a coward. She'd fight, and fight hard. She had thought of her unborn baby, sleeping so innocently within her womb, the baby that she'd die to protect. She had thought of the black and white pictures that she'd seen of that tiny little speck living inside her, that speck that she'd do anything for.

No, she'd fight.

But he was too strong. For all his clumsiness, one backhand to her face and she was falling, falling down. She clawed at his face until she raked at his eyes and he threw his head back, howling in pain. Then white hot pain, in her arm. It stunned her, the paralyzing pain that reverberated through her body. It gave her attacker enough time to strike her face again and start clawing at her thin nightgown, grabbing her thighs and breasts.

_"Oh you bitch. You're going to pay for that. Now you've gone and scarred my pretty '__ol__ face! You'll have to be punished for that. They told me not to, to just kill you, but they didn't know that you'd be such a bad girl. I'm __gonna__ enjoy this." _He sneered.

Serena shuddered, remembering the way his disgusting breath and words had fanned across her cheek and into her ears.

Then she had thought of her baby, and how she couldn't give up yet. She drew back her good arm back and punched him as hard she could in the face, kneeing him in the crotch at the same time. He'd cried out again, furious. He lunged at her, that ferocious knife plunging into her shoulder.

It ached, now, as she thought about it. _Where is Darien? I need him. Oh god, where is he?_ Darien. That man had said his name. She remembered now.

_"I was __gonna__ try and make it easier for you, but I guess not anymore. You just had to go and ruin the mood. Well, I __gotta__ skedaddle soon, so I better get this over with. __It's__gonna__ hurt like hell honey, and your man Darien __ain't__gonna__ save you. In fact, you can blame him for all this. If it wasn't for him, this would've probably never happened._" He laughed uproariously, as if it was all just some kind of funny joke. _"Yep, I guess you can say that it is his fault. He's the one doing this to you, causing you pain, killing you. You'd probably live if it weren't for him. But don't worry little lady, it'll all be over soon." _Then he'd plunged that knife into her gut, into her baby.

Serena screamed one last time, right there, in her hospital bed.

* * *

Darien heard it two steps from her room. A hoarse scream of horror and anger and fear and heart break. Serena's voice. "_NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!_" 

He leaped into her room, his gun poised and ready to shoot, the end of the silencer pointing directly into the room, ready to immediately kill anyone who dared to attack Serena again. But he saw no one, only Serena, who was in her bed, her eyes wide open and chest heaving as she tried to take in deep shuddering breaths. Her arms were stiff and her hands clutched the sheets in fists. She looked as if she were trying to get up, and sweat rolled down her face in her exertion. Darien quickly scanned the room once more, examining all the possible points of entrance, his gun still poised. Seeing that they were safe for now, he quickly put his gun away and went to Serena's side.

"Shh. Serena. It's alright now. There's nobody here to hurt you. Calm down. Oh baby. I'm so sorry. So sorry." He lied beside her in the narrow bed and gently gathered her in his arms, mindful of her injuries and the IV cords in her arm. "That's right. Just breathe. It'll be okay. No one will ever hurt you ever again. I'm here. I'll protect you."

Her wildly squirming and panting breaths finally began to desist and Darien could feel her heartbeat returning to normal. "My baby. What happened? Is he okay?" Her voice was hoarse and raspy, and Darien could feel his anger grow again. God, those bruises on her face, her split lip, her trembling body. For the first time in his life, there in that narrow hospital bed, with the woman he loved more than life itself tucked safely in his arms, he could feel tears burning behind his eyes. _Oh Serena… I'm so sorry. I love you…_

He shut his eyes as he braced himself to tell Serena the truth. "I'm sorry, Serena, we lost him."

For a moment there was silence, as if Serena didn't understand what he was saying, couldn't process the words correctly.

Then she wailed, a high-pitched keening cry of pain and anguish. A cry that no mother should ever have to cry, pain that no mother should ever have to feel. Was it better or worse that she'd never been able to hold her baby in her arms?

The sobs that wracked her body were so powerful that Darien was afraid that she'd reopen her wounds. Her body felt like ice, so delicate and frail that Darien was afraid to let her go, lest she fall apart in pieces.

"No… No… Oh please god no. My baby… My beautiful baby… Anything but that… _Anything._ Please god. Bring back my baby…" She cried until she had no more tears left to cry, until she shuddered dry sobs and hiccupped pleading words, words that couldn't do anything now.

Darien continued to hold her in his arms, stroking Serena's soft hair, until he felt her chest began to breathe evenly, her sobs dissipate, and her burdened mind fall asleep. He lay there, in that narrow hospital bed, holding his woman, his fiancée, his _life_, in his arms as he made a silent promise, his eyes glinting in the darkness like ice, but burning like the fires of hell itself.

_Those mother **fuckers** __dared to mess with me. They dared to hurt **my** __woman. They're going to pay. __Each and every one of them.__ I held back until now, I let them play their foolish little power games. But it's over now. Those fucking bastards are going die for this. Little shitheads will **pay.**_

He was the king of the underworld, ruler of the dark and shady dealings of the black market, lord of every single illegal and horrifying thing that you _never_ wanted to mess or deal with. In other words, he was the most bad-ass and fucking terrifying mafia leader the world had ever known.

And the world knew it.

He was the king of the underworld, and now his enemies would know what it'd be like to have the gates of hell unleashed upon them.

* * *

**A/N:** So, if you didn't read my note in the first chapter, I'll say it again. If you've read _Return in Kind_, please tell me whether you'd rather I focus more on this story, or _Return_. But don't worry, I will still, in the meantime keep working on _Crescendo_, as it is my main story. Well, hope you enjoyed this so far:). Don't forget! Reviews make chapters come faster! ;) 


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